COPYRIGHT NOTICE (C) 1997. The graphics and information on this page are copyrighted by Twelfth State, P.O. Box 105828, Jefferson City, MO 65110-5828 and may not be reproduced in any manner without prior written consent.

Robert Emmet Young was a junior at the State University in Columbia when he enlisted as a private in the Missouri State Guard on May 12, 1861. He was detailed as Mosby Monroe Parsons' orderly and served in that capacity until he transferred to the Confederate States Army in 1862. While dispatching orders for General Parsons' during the battle of Oak Hills (Wilson's Creek), Missouri, Young had his horse killed beneath him by a cannon volley. General Parsons praised the "young lad's" bravery in his official report.

Sometime before the battle of Elkhorn Tavern (Pea Ridge), Arkansas, Young became sick with pneumonia. After the battle, he suffered "a violent" hemorrhage of the lungs and spent time in the hospital at Memphis, Tennesse.

In May 1862, Young transferred to the Confederate States Army. He was then transferred to Guibor's battery and then Gorham's battery. This battery became known as the Third Missouri or Lesueur's battery.

As a member of Lesueur's Battery, he survived that fateful Fourth of July, 1863. Although the guns of the battery did not see action at Helena, Arkansas, Young was detailed to fight with Pindall's Battalion of Sharpshooter's. He was with Lesueur when the latter was wounded by a volley from the U. S. S. Tyler.

Private Young also participated in the Red River campaign including the battles of Pleasant Hill and Jenkin's Ferry. His obituary says he served with a Louisiana company at the end of the war. His parole indicates that if this was true, he had rejoined the Third Missouri Battery for surrender and was paroled on June 17, 1865 at Shreveport, Louisiana.

Young remained in Louisiana for about 18 months teaching school. He returned to Jefferson City, Missouri in 1866 where he worked on his father's farm (for Cole County readers, this is known as Murphy's Ford near Lohman which is named for Young's nephews, F. Y. and W. E. Murphy). Completing his degree at the University of Missouri, Robert Young then attended the University of Pennsylvannia and received his M. D. in 1871.

During Dr. Robert E. Young's career, he served as Physician of the Missouri State Penitentiary, Superintendent of the Insane Asylum at Nevada, Missouri, and was the personal medical advisor of Governor Marmaduke, a former Missouri Confederate General. Dr. Young was the first president of both the Medical Society of Central Missouri and Cole County Medical Society.

He served the Jefferson City community in the following capacities: Cole County School Commissioner, 1877 to 1885; First Ward Alderman, 1880-1881; organizer of the Cole County Fair Association; Board of Regents of Lincoln Institute (now Lincoln University founded by the 62nd and 65th U. S. Colored Regiments of Volunteers for colored people), 1885-1893; State Board of Charities and Corrections, 1897-1901; Vice-President of the First National Bank, 1895-1904. He was also elected President of the Nevada (MO) Fair Association when living there.

Dr. Young became a charter member of the General M. M. Parsons Camp, United Confederate Veterans of Jefferson City, Missouri and attended several Confederate Reunions.

Dr. Young married Charlotte McKenna on May 21, 1873. They had two sons, William Campbell Young, II and James McKenna Young. There are believed to be no direct descendants of Dr. Young living today. Eleven known collateral descendants which are three, four, five, or six generations removed still live in the Jefferson City area.

As a lover of history, Dr. Young made his mark on Jefferson City and Missouri's history by writing a series of letters about Jefferson City during his childhood and his experiences in the War Between the States. These letters have recently been compiled and published in a book entitled Pioneers of High, Water, and Main.

For more information about Dr. Young and his reminiscences, visit www.amazon.com and read about Pioneers of High, Water, and Main published by Twelfth State in 1997. This book can be purchased from Camp Pope Bookshop. The information on this web page was taken from Pioneers of High, Water and Main with permission of Twelfth State.